Random Waves of Insight

Lately Cartoon Network has been playing lots of "Futurama" at night. Last night Fry went back in time to Dec 31, 1999, and it got me thinking about how things originally played out versus how they changed through time travel.

Original timeline (Timeline A):
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry's grandfather, and they have a child, one of Fry's parents
December 31, 1999: Pizza delivery boy Fry goes to a false delivery address, courtesy of a legitimate prankster. Fry leans too far back in a chair in a Cryogenics building and is frozen for 1000 years.
Early 3000's: Fry goes back in time to 1947, spawning Timeline B. Fry then returns to the early 3000's of Timeline A.
3002:Evil alien Brains destroy the universe.

Timeline B:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry, and she becomes pregnant with one of Fry's parents, making Fry his own grandfather.
19**: Fry is born, but unlike in Timeline A, he now lacks Delta brain waves.
****: Nibbler the alien and his race foresee that Delta-deficient Fry is the only one capable of stopping evil brain creatures around the year 3002
December 31, 1999: Nibbler becomes the prankster, sends Fry to the Cryogenics building, and makes sure Fry leans too far back and falls into the Cryogenic tank.
Early 3000's: Fry goes back in time to 1947, and returns.
3002: Fry gets a Scootie Puff Jr. hover scooter from Nibbler and co., and plants a device in the evil Brain Mothership. The Scootie Puff Jr. breaks, and Fry doesn't escape in time. The device he planted sends him and all the brains to an "inescapable" alternate universe. The largest brain, nearly omniscient, figures out a way to send Fry back in time so he can prevent himself from getting frozen in the first place, and also so the brains will win, having no "John Connor" to lose to. Fry travels to December 31, 1999, spawning Timeline C.

Timeline C:
Same as Timeline B up to...
December 31, 1999: Future Fry arrives in the Cryo lab, and nearly stops himself from being frozen. Speaking with Nibbler, who is 1000 years younger, he decides to let himself get frozen, if only to save Leela. Then he tells Nibbler that Scootie Puff Jr. sucks. That piece of information changes the outcome of the event in 3002, and this version of future Fry vanishes, ceasing to exist.
3000: Frozen Fry wakes up from Cryo sleep
Soon after: Travels to 1947, returns
3002: Nibbler gives him a Scootie Puff Sr. hover scooter, which is far more powerful than the Jr. model. Fry plants the device on the Brain mothership. The Scootie Puff Sr. doesn't break, so Fry escapes, and life goes on in the future...

Of course, if the Nibbler race was super prophetic, they would have realized in Timeline A that if they froze Fry, even though he still had Delta brain waves, his actions in the future and in 1947 would eventually change his existence in the ways that would make him a perfect candidate for defeating the Brains. If they foresaw all that, it's likely that the timelines really looked like this:

Timeline A (foreseen and prevented through prophecy by Nibbler and co):
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry's grandfather.
19**: Fry is born with Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Fry misses his chance to get frozen 1000 years.
20**: Fry dies.
3002: Brains destroy universe.

Timeline B:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry's grandfather.
19**: Fry is born with Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Nibbler places the prank call and freezes Fry.
Early 3000's: Fry goes to 1947, spawning Timeline C. Fry returns.
3002: Brains destroy universe.

Timeline C:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry, and he becomes his own grandfather.
19**: Fry is born without Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Nibbler places the prank call and freezes Fry.
Early 3000's: Fry goes to 1947. Fry returns.
3002: Fry faces brains, his scooter breaks, travels to alternate universe, returns to December 31, 1999 spawning Timeline D.

Timeline D:
1947: Fry's grandmother meets Fry, and he becomes his own grandfather.
19**: Fry is born without Delta brain waves.
December 31, 1999: Nibbler places the prank call. Future Fry shows up, and tells Nibbler to get him a better scooter. Future Fry ceases to be, while Past Fry is frozen.
Early 3000's: Fry goes to 1947. Fry returns.
3002: Fry faces Brains, his new and improved scooter works great, and Fry escapes after sending all the evil Brains to the inescapable alternate universe. Time goes on...

Happy New Year!

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